# Cool Ship or Boat Names. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756 "2007-08-24T13:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/21 "2007-08-24T15:34:05Z")
Up in Bar Harbor, Maine, a friend pointed out a boat called **Outer Limits**. The owner wasn’t a science fiction fan or anything. He was a doctor, specializing in broken bones. “Outer Limits” is the name of a VERY long and mogul-laden ski run at Killington Mountain in Vermont. I’ve been there several times. There’s a lift that goes over the run. Many times I’ve thought “maybe, this time, I’ll give it a try.” But after five minutes going up past those impressive moguls, I change my mind. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/22 "2007-08-24T15:35:06Z")
Two of my favorites: _Stugots_ (and _Stugots II_) from **The Sopranos** and _The Seaward_ from \*\*Arrested Development \*\* (say it out loud…sounds like “The C Word.”). In season two there was a great exchange where Michael tells GOB, “Get rid of The Seaward.” to which their mother Lucille replied, “I’m not going anywhere!” God I loved that show. In the finale they’re on a different boat, and this one was actually called “The C-Word.” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/23 "2007-08-24T15:47:45Z")
There was a ship taken by pirates in the 18th century called the Protestant Ceasar. I always thought that was kind of a cool name for a ship. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/24 "2007-08-24T15:49:21Z")
USCSS _The Nostromo_. A name to put fear in the hearts of everyone and an alien in the stomach of Kane. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/25 "2007-08-24T16:01:17Z")
We have a dentist in our harbour whose cruiser is named “Doc Holiday.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/26 "2007-08-24T16:05:16Z")
When Pete Seeger needed to come up with the name of the sailing vessel and group that he planning to build to clean up the Hudson River he came up with the name “Clearwater”. This seems like a simple and perfect name. The local Monmouth County group had a rundown little motor boat, always in need of work and maintained on a shoestring called the “Worthy Cause”. I loved the Navy’s first Hydrofoil’s name: “[The USS Pegasus](http://navysite.de/pboats/phm1.htm)”. By reputation, she flew over the water. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/27 "2007-08-24T16:08:20Z")
Niven’s Known Space stories have some interesting ship names: **Long Shot** (an experimental Quantum 2 hyperdrive ship flown by Beowulf Schaeffer, which had no throttle) **Skydiver** (a ship built to make a close exploratory approach to a neutron star) **Drunkard’s Walk** (Larchmont Bellamy’s ship in _Grendel_) **Lying Bastard** (the ship that took Louis Wu, Speaker-to-Animals, Nessus, and Teela Brown to _Ringworld_) [Schlock Mercenary](http://schlockmercenary.com/index.html) occasionally has Ob’enn warships turn up. These sport names like **Sword of Inevitable Justice** , **Staff of Unrelenting Order** , and the (rechristened) **Polysyllabic Destruction**. 🙂 On a completely different note, Steven Callahan wrote the book _Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea_ about the time he spent on the **Rubber Ducky III** (a life raft). ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/28 "2007-08-24T16:12:06Z")
My kayak was christened **Thaitanic**. I’d love to take credit for the idea, but I saw it on a boat once and it stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/29 "2007-08-24T16:12:31Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I loved the Navy’s first Hydrofoil’s name: “[The USS Pegasus](http://navysite.de/pboats/phm1.htm)”. By reputation, she flew over the water. Jim [/QUOTE] I had an instructor at SWOS (or OCS; I forget which) who’d been an officer on _Pegasus,_ and he told us a fascinating story about one night in the Caribbean. They were traveling foil-born in the middle of the night, making full speed, when suddenly a terrific sound and shock rocked the ship. Immediately they began having trouble staying on course and foil-borne, so they raised the foil and limped back to Key West hull-borne. The next morning it was discovered that the forward foil was badly damaged, and a whale vertebra was lodged in it. ---
**Author:** ![Burton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/30 "2007-08-24T16:22:21Z")
My next boat is going to be called Mast Transit ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/31 "2007-08-24T16:28:04Z")
Oh good! I get to be first to mention the boat [Travis McGee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_McGee) lived on: _The Busted Flush_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/32 "2007-08-24T16:29:02Z")
The USS _Monitor_ was the Union’s first ironclad during the Civil War, named by its designer, John Ericsson, because he thought it would prove a “severe monitor” (that is, a check upon the ambitions) of the Confederacy. When the _Monitor_ stopped the CSS _Virginia_’s rampage and secured the blockade, he was proved right. The USS _Kearsarge_, best known for its defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS _Alabama_, was named after a mountain in New Hampshire, itself given an Indian name which means “notch-pointed mountain of pines.” The British have a particular knack for using vivid adjectives to name their ships: _Illustrious, Indefatigable, Indomitable, Glorious_, etc. Despite the Alec Guiness movie and the later _Star Trek_ connection, though, they never actually used the name _Defiant_. Less seriously, the squalid, unpleasant rustbucket in the otherwise-forgettable Chris Elliot comedy _Cabin Boy_ is named the SS _Filthy Whore_. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/33 "2007-08-24T16:42:24Z")
In _The Cruel Sea_ is mentioned the merchie _Jolly Nights_. I will name mine _Escapade_. An admiral of my acquaintance has (had) a yacht named _Mufti_. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/34 "2007-08-24T18:01:45Z")
I crewed in my first sailboat race aboard a friend’s boat, _Rosinante_. It was the name of Don Quixote’s horse. It means _Glue_. I called my first sailboat _Louise_. In an old Popeye cartoon, Bluto sang \*Every Little Breeze Seems To Whisper Louise \* in a French accent. Louise is also my wife’s middle name. Roy Disney’s big racing yacht is called _Pyewacket_. ---
**Author:** ![RMutt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@RMutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RMutt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/35 "2007-08-24T18:08:41Z")
If I ever manage to muster up the scratch for a boat, it will be the Lookfar, after Ged’s boat in Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea novels. She had an eye painted on her prow, what’s better than that? We had a cat called Pywacket when I was a kid, the name came from the movie Bell, Book and Candle. What a great name! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/36 "2007-08-24T18:20:16Z")
In the 17th century there was a Spanish ship known as Caca Fuego, can’t remember what it was actually named, because of the amount of cannons it carried. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/37 "2007-08-24T18:30:20Z")
I met a guy that named his fishing boat the **Chickenship** ---
**Author:** ![Anglachel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Anglachel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anglachel)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/38 "2007-08-24T18:49:50Z")
Long time lurker here, but I had to register for this thread. My all time favorite (fictional) ship name is _In Amber Clad_ from Halo 2. The Halo universe is loaded with interesting names. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/39 "2007-08-24T18:55:06Z")
One more: [_Temporary Insanity II_](http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/images/images-0-50/photo43_4.jpg). Normally, the fact that it’s a repeat name would kill some of the coolness factors, but once you’ve looked at the picture… :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/40 "2007-08-24T19:35:55Z")
Two boat names that stick in my head from days on the Chesapeake - _Camel of the Sea_ and a boat that was no doubt owned by a cardiologist - _E Sea G_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756.md?page=3)